Saturday, December 30, 2006

A Visit from Ted

“Did you see the ghost up there by the bimah? Do you suppose it could have been Ted?” my friend asked at Shabbat services this morning. Well, that gave me something to ponder.

My friend is clairvoyant. She sees things in nature that most of us miss altogether. But she also sees supernatural things like ghosts. It’s beyond understanding for most of us, but it is oh so real for her.

She went on to describe that the ghost was swaying and dovening with the prayers. He looked content.

What a wonderful thought about Ted, who died just 10 days ago of a debilitating disease that had not allowed him to sing or to even to walk for months. We missed his deep rich bass voice in the choir. We missed the “OYs” that he added at certain places in the yism’chu.

The thought that Ted had returned to his beloved congregation, where he had prayed every week for the 40 years prior to his confinement at home, was the high point of my day. Even if I couldn’t see this apparition, just the imagination of it did my heart good.

What a gift to be able to see beyond the living! What a surprise to be reunited with Ted this morning. It probably shouldn’t come as a surprise at all. Where else was I more likely to encounter him?

8 Comments:

Anonymous said...

I like the idea that there are dimensions we can't see (except for some of us) and that whatever it is that keeps us alive goes on after the body dies. I would love to come back "home" from wherever it is I go. Have you ever read Heavenly Village by Cynthia Rylant?

I agree with Kristin and am a little skeptical that Reya, despite her powers, actually saw Ted's ghost. Had she described his physical appearance, having never seen him, that might cause me pause. But, he is with us in our thoughts for sure. And, hopefully, his spirit is winging its way to God.

Ghosts are not unnatural! People all over the world, in every conceivable culture have "seen" ghosts. Only now in our post-modern, ultra-enlightened culture do we deny what's been a natural part of human life. We are so impoverished.